Insulator



Oct. 3, 1939. A. A. uocHER 2,174,723

. msqnA-roa F iled Sept. 18, 1936 Patented Oct.3,1939 v 2,174,723

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE INSULATOR Andrew A. Hocher, Etna, Pa., assignor to Hubbard and Company, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application September 18, 1936, Serial No. 101,486

14 Claims. (Cl. 1'74-154) This invention relates to insulator assemblies, Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the base member usually referred to in the trade as wire holders, of the insulator assembly; and and employed for attaching or securing electric Figs. 5 and 6 are perspective views of the inservice wires to the walls of buildings or other sulator body and metallic base respectively.

5 supports and insulating them therefrom. Throughout the drawing and the specification 5 The insulator assembly to which my invention like reference characters indicate like parts. relates comprises, in general, an insulator, a me- In Figs. 1 and 2 0f the draw n a n u a r 'tallic base provided with means for securing the assembly is shown comprising an insulator body insulator thereto, and means such as a lag screw l, a e l ic base and a sc w held in p a 10 for attaching the assembly to a support. by the base, and means 4 for holding the base and 10 Insulator assemblies of this type are usually the insulator body in assembled relation to each exposed to the weather and for that reason the other. metallic parts are either galvanized or given some T e insu body y e f y shape other treatment to prevent rusting. Unless these design and may be made of any ma erial sui abl 16 metallic parts are properly constructed and defor the pu The One illustrated is f an signed the galvanized surface or protective coatinsulating material S as porcelain and is ing cracks, allowing moisture, oxidizing and other vided with an opening 5 throu h wh ch a e corrosive elements in the air to attack the metal wire or service wire may be passed preparatory and eventually weaken the structure to the point to securing the wire to the insulator. The open- 20 of failure. Furthermore, the metallic parts in ing 5 is located substantially at the central por contact with the insulator must be so constructed tion of the i su ato b dy d t pp surface and designed that they do not impose stresses on of such opening is at a substantial distance from the insulator that will break or crack the same. th p of the insulator- The insulator y is The prior art insulator assemblies known to me also provided with an opening 6 extending at have been defective for the reasons above stated, substantially right angles to the wire receiving that is, the galvanized or protective surface on opening 5 and h s Opening is disposed between the metal parts has cracked and particularly at the top of the insulator and the wire receiving points subject to high stresses, these points opening. T e means for securing the insulator usually being hidden from view but so located body to the base extends through opening 6 and 3 as to retain the moisture and thereby accentuate downwardly along the insulator body, such means the corrosive or rusting action. These prior art being located in grooves 7 formed in the outer devices also have caused the insulators to fail by surface of the insul or bo y. to h base m mreason of the fact that when the load is in a cer-. beer to which the holding means is secured.

tain direction the insulators are subjected to a The base member 2 has a substantially flat botwedging action by the metallic parts that causes tom and an upwardly extending circumferential 35 the insulator to crack or split. flange 3 within which the lower end of the in- An object of this invention is to provide an insulator is received or nested. The central porsulator assembly of the character referred to tion of the base member is provided with an openabove and hereinafter more fully described, that ng 9 thr ugh Which the screw 3 may be pa shall be so constructed that cracking of the gal-, T s op n s preferably of polygonal shape s0 0 vanized or protective surfaces of the metallic that it may receive a screw having a correspondparts is prevented and that the insulator will not ingly shaped shank to prevent the screw from be subjected to such stresses by the metallic parts turning in the base member. The head ill of the as to cause splitting or cracking when the assemscrew is larger than this open so a it Will bly is stressed by the imposed load. not fall through the same. It is preferred that 45 Other objects of the invention will either be opening 9 be square in form and that the shank pointed out in or understood from the following portion ll of the screw that registers with this description taken in conjunction with the accomopening, be of the same shape. The screw and panying drawing in which: base are given a galvanized or other protective 60 Figure 1 is a view in elevation of an insulator coating and this coating is not broken as a result assembly embodying one form of the invention; of strains imposed on the assembly because the Fig. 2 is a view in vertical section of the assemparts are not welded or otherwise secured tobly shown in Fig. 1; gether, nor are the joints between these parts Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the insulator emjoined by such coating, as each part is galvanized bodied in the assembly of Figs. 1 and 2; prior to its assembly with the other, and, after 56 assembly, is free to move relative to each other without breaking the coating.

The bottom of base member 2 is also provided with openings [12 on diametrically opposim sides to receive the securing means t, these openings being below flange ii.

The securing means shown comprises a length of wire, preferably of heavy gage copper, which is passed through opening 6 and bent to conform to the curvature of the bottom wall thereoi and to lie in grooves l in the opposite sides of the insulator body. ihe ends of the wire are bent upwardly into the openings 12, and when so bent hoolr under the flange of the base, thereby rigidly holding base 2 and insulator i together in as= sembled relation.

In order that the sides of the securing memher t shall not extend appreciably beyond the outer surface of the insulator body and the base, flange 8 is bent inwardly at openings l2 towards the center thereof so that when the ends of the securing wire are bent to position the portion of the flange engaged thereby is disposed inwardly of the remaining portions of the flange. To accommodate the inwardly projecting portions of the flange and to allow room for the inwardly bent ends of the securing member, the insulator is formed with cavities i l on diametrically opposite sides and these cavities extend inwardly towards the center of the insulator. Also, the lower end of the insulator that is received in the base member is reduced in diameter as indicated by the boundary line iii in Fig. 3. The cavities l4 and the grooves '17 in which the securing member lies are shown to be in alignment in Fig. 3. When an insulator assembly is assembled as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the base is rigidly secured to the insulator and the screw is rigidly secured to the base.

If the portions of the flange engaged by the ends of the securing member are distorted by a pulling load whose direction is long the longitudinal axis of the screw, the distortion will be towards shoulder it at the bottom of the insulator, but this distortion will not result in a wedging action on the insulator and will not cause it to crack or split. If the load is in the opposite direction and causes the head of the screw to engage the bottom of the insulator, the head of the screw will not impose a wedging or splitting force on the insulator but will only exert a compressive force thereon.

It will also be apparent that a sidewise pull on the insulator assembly of Figs. 1 and 2 will not result in any substantial displacement between the point of contact. of the head of the screw and the bottom of the insulator as this contact is substantially at the center of the insulator. The head of the screw will therefore not shift, at least not to any appreciable extent, and therefore cannot exert a wedging' action that will tend to split or crack the insulator. If strains are imposed on the assembly of Figs. 1 and 2, to the extent that distortion takes place in the base member, this distortion will not result in the cracking of the galvanized coating of either the screw head, its shank, or of the base. Therefore, if the coating is not cracked, the metal parts will be protected against rusting and corrosion.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patawards transverse opening through which a conductor may be passed and a second transverse opening located between said first opening and the top of said insulator body extending at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the flrst named opening and terminating at its ends in grooves running downwardly to the bottom of the insulator body, a metallic base having a flange embracing a portion of the bottom of said insulator and provided with apertures in its bottom dis posed in line with said grooves, a screw having its head locked to and supported by said base, and an element extending through said second named opening and downwardly along said grooves, the ends of said element being bent inwardly and upwardly so as to book under the flange of said base and hold said insulator body, said base and said screw in assembled relationship.

7 2. An insulator assembly comprising an insulator body provided with a transverse opening through which a conductor may be passed and a second transverse opening located between said first opening and the top of said insulator body extending at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the first named opening and terminating at its ends in grooves running downwardly to the bottom of the insulator body, the bottom of said insulator body having an inwardly extending locking groove disposed below and inwardly of one of said first-mentioned grooves, a metallic base having a flange embracing a portion or the bottom of said insulator and provided with apertures in its bottom disposed in line with said grooves, said flange having an inwardly extending shoulder positioned to register with said locking groove to hold said base against turning relative to the insulator body, a screw having its head locked to and supported by said base, and a wire tie extending through said second-named opening and downwardly along said grooves, the ends of said tie being bent inwardly and upwardly so as to hoolr under the flange of said base and hold the insulatorbody, the base, and screw in assembled relationship.

3. An insulator assembly comprising an insulator body provided with a transverse opening through which a conductor may be passed and a second transverse opening located between said first opening and the top of said insulator body extending at an angle to the longitudinal axis of a the first-named opening and terminating at its ends in grooves running downwardly to the bottom of the insulator body, said insulator body having a shoulder disposedbelow and inwardly of one of said grooves, a metallic base having a flange embracing the bottom of said insulator and provided with apertures in its bottom disposed in line with said grooves, said base having a shoulder disposed to abut said shoulder in the insulator to prevent relative turning of the base and insulator body in one direction, a screw having its head locked to and supported by said base, and a wire tie extending through said second-named opening and downwardly along said grooves, the ends of said tie being bent inwardly and upwardly so as to hook under the flange of said base and hold said insulator body, said base, and said screw in assembled relationship.

4. An insulator assembly comprising an insulator body provided with a substantially central transverse opening through which .a conductor may be passed and a second transverse opening located between said first opening and the top of said insulator body extending at an angle to l" diametrically opposed slots, and an upstanding the longitudinal axis of the first-named opening and terminating at its ends in grooves running downwardly to the bottom of the insulator body, a metallic base having a flange embracing a portion of the bottom of said insulator body and provided with apertures in its bottom disposed in line with said grooves, said insulator body and base having means acting to prevent relative turning between them, a screw having its head locked to and supported by said base, and a wire tie extending through said second-named opening and downwardly along said grooves, the ends of said tie being bent inwardly and upwardly so as to hook under the flange of said base and hold said insulator body, said base, and said screw in assembled relationship.

5. An insulator assembly comprising an insulator body provided with a substantially centrally disposed opening therethrough adapted to receive a conductor, a second opening therethrough at right angles to said first opening and between the first opening and the top of the insulator and grooves in the sides of the insulator body extending from said second opening to the bottom, said insulator body being reduced in size near the bottom thereof to form a recess under lying a peripheral shoulder, a base plate for the bottom of said insulator body and having a peripheral flange lying within the recess aforesaid, said base plate being provided with a central polygonal aperture and diametrically opposed slots, a securing screw between said base plate and the bottom of said insulator body and extending through the polygonal opening in said base plate, said securing screw having a portion similar in shape to said polygonal opening, and a hold-down member of U-shape form provided with hook-shaped extremities, said hold-down member passing through said second opening downwardly along said grooves aforesaid and having its hook-shaped extremities passing through the slots in the base plate and interlocked beneath said peripheral flange.

6. An insulator assembly comprising an insulator body having a substantially centrally disposed opening therethrough, a second opening extending at right angles to said first opening and disposed between said first opening and the top of the insulator and opposite side grooves extending from said second opening to the bottom of the insulator body, a base plate substantially co-extensive with the bottom of said insulator body and having an upstanding peripheral flange inwardly bowed at diametrically opposite points, opposed slots located below such inwardly bowed flange points and a central rectangular aperture, a securing screw extending through said rectangular aperture and having a head larger than said aperture disposed between the base plate and the bottom of the insulator body, the securing screw being so shaped where it passes through said rectangular opening as to prevent relative rotation of said plate and screw and a U-shaped hold-down member passing through said second opening in said insulator body and extending downwardly along the sides of the insulator body in the grooves aforesaid,

said hold-down member having its extremities passing through said base plate slots and interlocked with said inwardly bowed flange portions to hold said insulator body, said base and said screw in rigid assembled relationship.

'7. In aninsulator assembly of the kind de scribed, a base plate consisting of a disc-shaped portion having a central polygonal opening,

peripheral flange having diametrically opposed inwardly bowed portions overlying said slots.

8. In an insulator assembly of the kind described, an insulator body composed of nonconducting refractory material, said insulator body having a substantially centrally disposed opening therethough adapted to receive a conductor, a second opening at right angles to said first opening and disposed between the top of said first opening and the top of the insulator body and grooves extending from the bottom of said second opening to the bottom of the insulator, said insulator having a reduced bottom portion forming a recess underlying a peripheral shoulder.

9. An insulator assembly comprising an insulating body having conductor and bail openings extending transversely therethrough and being angularly disposed with relation to each other, a metallic base member having a pair of spaced apertures and a peripheral flange which surrounds the adjacent end of the insulating body, a wire bail extending through said bail opening and having its end portions hooked under the peripheral flange of the base member with its extreme ends extending into said apertures and means for securing said base member to a support.

10. An insulator assembly according to claim 9 in which that portion of the insulating body surrounded by the peripheral flange of the metallic base member is reduced in diameter and in which the outer surface of said flange is substantially flush with the surface of the insulating body immediately adjacent thereto.

11. An insulator assembly according to claim 9 in which the insulating body is provided with side grooves extending from the bail hole to its far end which is reduced in diameter to bring the outer surface of the peripheral flange of the metallic base member substantially flush with the surface of the insulating body adjacent thereto.

12. An insulator assembly according to claim 9 in which a threaded member extends through the metallic base member with its head confined between the base of the insulating body and the upper surface of the metallic base member.

13. An insulator assembly comprising an insulating body provided with a transversely extending conductor openingand a transversely extending bail opening between the conductor opening and the top of the body and extending at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the conductor opening, a metallic base member having a flange embracing a portion of the side walls and bottom of the insulating body and having its bottom provided with oppositely positioned openings, a screw supported by said base and having its head confined between said base and the bottom of the insulating body and a wire bail extending through the bail opening and downwardly along the sides of the insulating body with its ends extending over said flange and into said openings in the bottom of the metallic base member. U

14. In an insulator assembly, an insulator hav-- ing a conductor aperture extending therethrough, a surface groove formed therein and extending across the bottom and up the sides of said insulator and spaced from said aperture, a second aperture extending through said insulator atan angle to said first-mentioned aperture, between it and the top of said insulator and comprising insert CERTIFICATE OF Patent No a 2, 17L 725 0 arm-mas head portion thereof located between said memher and said insulator, and fastening means extending through said second aperture and lying within said groove for looking said member to said insulator and for positively holding said peripheral shoulder in close association with said cup-=forrning flange.

AimREi/V A. HOCHER.

CORRECTION October 5, 1959 ANDREW A I-IOCHERo It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent, requiring correction as follows: Page 2 column line i52 for with this correction ease in the Patent Office,

the word long read J an; and the said Letters Patent should be read therein that the some may comom to the-record of the Signed and sealed this li tle. day of November, A, D: 19390 (Seal) Henl y Von Airedale Acting Commissioner of Patentso 

